Forsaken (14 page)

“Do you know what they are?” she asked, reverently.

“They’re hard for me to see, but… I think they’re here to ward against intruders.”

“A warning?” Nora leaned over Hunter’s shoulder to study the markings.

“Maybe. I think this tower may have a twin around here somewhere.” He looked around. “You can see better in the light – see if you can spot another reflection.”

Nora turned in a circle as she searched the woods around them. The clearing in which they stood appeared to be isolated from the overgrowth of trees and vegetation. Then her eyes caught something, a twinkle from not too far away. Had she not been consciously looking for it, she would have probably missed it.

“Over there.” She pointed in its direction. “I saw a glimmer there.”

“Okay.” Hunter started walking in the direction she pointed. Instead of going with him, Nora walked closer to the tower. Its vibrant shine called out to her, its pure white surface begging for her touch. She reached out to put a hand on it…

And she knew danger. Terrible images of death flashed in her mind.
Danger!
Humans being carved like pigs on a sacrificial stone, children hanging by their necks in chains with blood streaming out of their eyes.
Danger!
Women being skinned alive, their tortuous screams unaffecting their hooded captors.
Danger! Danger!

Nora ripped her hand away from the stone, and the images died. She looked around wildly, searching for Hunter.

She was alone.

“Hunter?” she cried out. No answer. “Hunter, where are you!?” She began to hyperventilate.

She ran in the direction she thought he’d gone. “Hunter? Hunter!” She tripped on a root and started to fall forward, right on her face – when a pair of strong hands caught her.

“There you are.” Hunter helped her up. “What’s going on?”

“Hunter, the tower.” She pressed a hand to her chest in an effort to regain control of her breathing. “I touched it, and there were images, images of death, and suffering, all the bodies, nobody was safe!” She collapsed sobbing into him, and he held her tight.

“There, there.” He rubbed her back soothingly. “Nobody’s going to hurt you. Not when you’re with me.” Nora felt the sincerity in his words and gripped him even tighter. For better or for worse, he was all she had.

“Now, you said you saw images?” She nodded vigorously. “And they came when you touched the tower?” Again, more nodding. “I want to see for myself.”

He held her close as he walked toward the tower. She stopped a good ten yards short, not wanting to go any closer. Hunter, however, marched right up to it. He reached out to place a hand on it…

He looked back to her quizzically. He took his hand off and placed it on again. He tried a few more times, but then shook his head and came back to her.

“Are you sure, Nora? Perhaps the travel is getting to you.”

“I’m sure.”

“I felt nothing.”

“I felt…danger. A warning. For me to stay away. Far away from this place.”

“That’s interesting.” Hunter turned to contemplate the tower.

“Interesting? It’s
terrifying
! Have you ever heard of anything like it before?”

“My own gift,” he said absentmindedly. “I have a suspicion…” he trailed off. Then he grabbed her hand and led her away.

“The other tower,” he explained. “I’d just caught sight of it when I heard your cries, and I rushed back. But I have a feeling…well, you’ll see.” He led her through the dense forest, around thick trees and straight through heavy shrubs. Finally, another clearing appeared ahead of them.

This one was smaller and much more compact. But a near-identical tower stood right in the middle. Except that this one was pure black. Again, the stone gleamed with a marvelous luster.

“I don’t want to come any closer.” Nora tugged against his hand.

Hunter looked at her and nodded. “I understand.” Leaving her at the clearing’s edge, he marched up to the tower and bent his head close, examining its surface. “There are markings here, too,” he told her. “Just as I suspected. And I think I can understand them.”

“You can? How?”

“Come closer, and I’ll show you.” She hesitated. “You needn’t worry, I don’t think this tower will have any effect on you.”

Cautiously, she inched her way closer. Just close enough so she could make out the inscriptions. Foreign letters and shapes, completely different from the ones that adorned the white tower, spiraled up in much the same way, but in the opposite direction.

Hunter ran a finger along one line. “These,” he said, “are ancient Vassiz symbols.”

“They are?”

“Yes. It’s a language that has been long forgotten in favor of the human tongue, but I’ve picked up bits and pieces of it over the years. Not many of my kind even know it exists anymore. But I think I can make out enough.” He paused, studying the markings. His finger ran up, following the twisting text, and he walked around the tower slowly, reading. “This predates the elders,” he said to himself with awe.

“The elders? You’ve mentioned them before, but you never explained to me who they are.”

“Ah. Well, just as it sounds. They’re the most ancient of the Vassiz, and they watch over our race. We answer to their demands, and they administer justice over matters of…importance. They provide their wisdom and ensure the unity of the Vassiz. They are highly revered. Almost as much as the Vassiz creed.” He smiled at Nora knowingly. “Which I broke.”

“How long have the elders had control?”

“Since our history started being recorded. Perhaps longer. There is not a single member of our race alive who can say they lived in a time when the elders did not rule. But this…” he looked to the tower “… this, I have not heard mention of before.”

“You said the markings predate the elders?”

“Yes. I believe so. If they do – if these towers do – it is a monumental discovery. There is no consensus as to how the elders came to power in the first place. But there are whispers, uttered in only the darkest of crevices, and under penalty of death, that their ascent to power was not peaceful. In fact, some say it was much the opposite. They say our race paid a great price for the overseers.”

He turned his head back to the tower and continued reading. “I think… I think this was a place where great rituals once took place. And I think there’s more to it than just these towers.”

“What do you mean?”

“If we look, I think we can find it. A sanctuary, maybe. A part of the writings, they say…
Come hither, Thou who seek Respite, and Fear Not for your Mind.
I think…this was a safe-place for the Vassiz once.”

“A safe place from
what
?” Nora could not imagine a single Vassiz needing to hide from anything.

“Maybe if we find it, we’ll find out.” He set off, but Nora caught his arm.

“Hunter, wait. I don’t think this is a good idea. What I felt, what I
saw
, when I touched that tower…” She shuddered.

“You’re with me, remember?” he said reassuringly. “I won’t let anything happen to you. Besides, I suspect the power of the sanctuary is to keep humans away.”

Chapter Eighteen

~Into the Ruins~

Nora and Hunter had been searching the area around the towers for the better part of two hours when Nora hit her foot on a stone and was surprised when it didn’t budge. She bent down to brush away the earth and grime that covered it, and froze.

The stone was covered in washed-out markings.

“Hunter? Hunter, I think I found something!” She dropped to her knees for a closer look.

Hunter peered over her shoulder. “What is it?”

“Markings. I can’t make them out, but they look a lot like the ones on the tower.”

“Hmm.” Hunter bent down beside her. He nodded. “You’re right. Nicely done.”

“What do you think it is?”

“I don’t know. But I can tell you it’s not just some stone stuck in the ground. I think it’s part of a much larger structure…like a buried statue.” He looked around. “And I bet there’ll be another one close by.”

Nora watched as Hunter examined the ground carefully, making his way forward on hands and knees to make sure he didn’t miss anything. Suddenly he looked up. “Found it.”

“Can you tell what the markings mean?”

Hunter looked at the stone piece sticking out of the ground and shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. It’s in the same script as was on the first tower.”

“So what now?”

“I think we’re getting closer to the sanctuary.”

“Are we really going to go there?” Nora had been over this with him a hundred times in the last few hours, and he always seemed to get the upper hand. “If it’s designed to keep humans away, how do you know there won’t be any…traps set for me?”

Hunter shook his head. “I told you, I’d notice them long before they could be sprung. And if it’s any kind of physical mechanism, it’d be long since eroded by time.”

“What about what I felt when I touched that tower?” She shivered and tried to keep the memories from surfacing.

Hunter waved her concerns away. “I wouldn’t worry about it. That precise feeling was likely the last defense against human intrusion, anyway. It’s nothing physical and nothing that can harm you.” He paused to smile at her. “But if you feel it again, let me know, and we’ll leave this place.”

“But not before?”

“Not before.”

Nora sighed. There really was no arguing with a man, not even one from a different race.

“Come on.” Hunter pushed his way through the ferny undergrowth. “I have a feeling we’re on the right path.”

Nora followed him for maybe a hundred yards before they reached another clearing. This one, however, extended far to the left and right of them. The forest’s growth seemed to just stop. On the other side, about twenty grass-covered feet away, a large rock cliff stood covered with ivy. Lots of shrubbery and vines grew outward from there. They didn’t reach the edge of the forest.

Nora started to walk forward, but found Hunter’s arm pressed against her chest. “Wait.” He held her back. “I smell something.”

She sniffed, but didn’t smell anything other than the now familiar scents of the forest. “What is it? Is it dangerous?”

He lifted his nose into the air and inhaled deeply. “No, I don’t think so, but…” he trailed off and walked to the other side, to the vertical slope. Conspicuously sniffing the air, he moved off to the left, coming closer to the ivy-covered rock. Then he bent to the side and ripped away a large bunch of fern with his hands. He stepped aside, smiling at Nora. Behind him, in the gap in the vegetation he’d just created, was a small opening, complete with a rotting wooden door.

“How did you find that?” Nora walked up to him. She couldn’t have picked out the spot from any other along the face of the slope.

“The air smelled different. Stale. It was coming from there.” He pointed at the opening.

“Do you think this is the place we were looking for?”

“It could be.” He stayed quiet for a minute, pensive. “I’m going to check it out. You wait here. There’s no light inside, but I can see in the dark.”

He made to move the door out of his way, but the rotting wood collapsed as soon as he touched it. Hunter ducked into the cave, leaving Nora to wait by herself.

She sat down by the opening and waited. And waited. And waited. The sun began to dip behind the horizon. Nora grew impatient. But still she waited, and waited some more. Half an hour passed, and then another. What was taking him so long?

Soon, Nora’s thoughts turned dark. Hunter was taking
too
long. What if something happened to him? What if he didn’t return? What if there was a trap in there, and—

Her thoughts were interrupted when Hunter suddenly emerged with a triumphant smile on his face. “Come with me.” He extended Nora a hand. “You’re going to love it.”

Nora took Hunter’s hand and followed him into the tunnel. It was dark inside, and the air smelled damp. Stuffy, even.

As they walked, her eyes kept trying to adjust to the darkness. But once she was a good hundred feet from the entrance, everything was pitch black. Her only guide was Hunter’s grip on her hand and the sound of his footsteps against the stone.

Her eyes might have been glued shut for as much as she could see, but still, she kept walking. Nora thought the tunnel sloped down, but perhaps that was only her imagination. More than once, she stumbled over a rock. Hunter caught her gently every time.

They walked for what must have been at least two hours when Nora’s eyes slowly started to see past the dark. Dark shapes started revealing themselves around her, rocks and chipped boulders on all sides. She thought it was her imagination getting the better of her, when a pale light appeared far in the distance.

“Do you see that?” she asked Hunter.

“Of course. That’s where we’re going.”

As they got closer, Nora realized it was the exit of the tunnel. And when they walked right up to it, Nora’s jaw dropped.